Lighter with fluid reservoirs



Sept. 26, 1944. A s, WESTON 2,358,955

L IGHTER WITH FLUID REsERvoIRs Filed Nov.Y 20,1942

1.71- TQ e u,

T la. Z i A INVENTOR;

Patented Sept. 26, 194,4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2,358,955 y v LIGHTER WITH FLUID RESERVOIRS Alexander SydneyWeston, New York, N. Y.

` Application Novemberizo,1942,'sena1No. 466,505v

` claims. (ci. sr- 7.1)

producing,`devioe, generally indicated by the nu- This inventionrlatessto cigaretteand cigar lighters and has for Aits main object to provide a device of this character and of novel construetion which will be more efcient than the devices now used for such purposes.V y

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of this type in which reserve uid for the lighter will be embodied in a convenient manner. I n.

Still a further objectI of my invention is' to provide a novel vefficient cigar and cigarette lighter, having a reserve huid container or tank incorporated therein, which also will have another container o`r chamber for reserve ints.

Still a further Vobject of my invention is to provide a device, as characterized hereinbefore, in l which the arrangement of the flame producing device proper will be the reverseto that now used,

whereby a liquid container may be arranged in the lower part thereof so that said container in the usual position of the device will be in a "nor-I mal vertical position in the base thereof, the bottom of the fluid container being downwardly, and the openA top thereof, with its removable cover, being upwardly...

meral l2.

As has been mentioned, the lower, base, portion V is a hpuow cylinder is, which ls divldedby the wall I6 into the upper part Il, and a. lower part I5. Both, the upper end Il and the lower Il of the base, are open,

The upper portion or lighter proper I2 of the device may also have a casing or outer housing I9 of any appropriate construction, well known in this art, from which projects cylindrical downward extension of a'reduced diameter, compared to the upper main portion' 2l of the housing I9.4

The lighter properor'rlame producing device 22, arranged in the upper housing or casing Il, preferably is of the type which operates by a y friction wheel 23, rubbing on a flint (notshown) Other objects of this invention will be apparent o.

as the specification of the same proceeds, and'.

among otherskI may mention: to providea lighter of the type indicated which still will be simple and compact in construction, comparatively in- K y expensive to manufacture, adapted to be manufactured from plastic or other materials, andv whichwill have anovel attractive appearance.

`In the drawing forming a -part of this specification, and accompanying the same. Fig. 1 is an velevational view of my novel cigar and cigarette lighter in a closed position;

' Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top or'plan view; f

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional elevational view, the

section being indicated by line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5l and 6 arecross sectional views, the re spective sections being indicated by the lines 5-5 drlcal, or base, portion, generally indicated by the numeral I I, and an upper lighter proper, orflame producing sparks, and igniting the wick 24 fed by a combustible liquid from the housing 22, as it is wellvknown.

Housing 22 of theame producing device is It may have an open inner end, or it may have an opening at its innerend, to rell the same, that is, to again saturate the usual cotton massin` the housing y22, withV the combustible liquid.

The construction of and parts in the lighter proper, or nameproducing device, 22 are not shown as they are' well known in this art.

ItV will be seen that the lighter proper, or flame producing device, 22, normally is arranged in my device in an inverted position and the wheel 2l and wick 24 are pointing downwardly, being housed inthe space Ila in .the upper part H of the hollow base I I of my device.

' by a screw threaded cap 21.

Outer screw threads 28 are provided on the lower part of the reserve fluid tank 25, and corre sponding inner threads are provided on the wall Y of the base I3, adjacent to its openiend Il, where- -or base, of my invention with the upper part, or

by said reserve container or tank may be removably *secured in the lower part of the base, as will be obvious. f

It `will be seen that in a. normal position of `my device the reserve container 25 will be in its normal position, its closed bottom 29 being downwardly and its opening 26 upwardly.

The upper end 30 of the casing or housing l0 for the lighter proper 22, is closed and preferably 32 cooperating with the screw threads in a corresponding recess in the closure ball 34.

The space 3Ia in the sleeve 3l may serve as a chamber or magazine for the reserve flints 35,

and an additional cork, rubber or similar stopper 35 may be used to close the upper end of the sleeve 3|, mainly to fprevent the rattling of the flnts 35.

From a shoulder 31 at the lower end of the casing I9, where the cylindrical projection 20 starts, semi-cylindrical guide and securing projection 38 extend downwardly, on the outer wall of the cylindrical projection 20, and correspondlng recesses 39 are provided in the inner wall of the upper end of the upper portion I4 of the base casing or housing I3, and when my device is in a closed position, as indicated in Figs. l and 4, said guide and securing projections 38 will be pushed into the recesses 39.Y In this manner the projection 20 and the upper casing' I9 may be pushed into the upper end of the base I3, said projections 38, in the recesses 39, guiding such a movement, and afterwards preventing, through their increased frictional action, an easy removal or dropping out of the upper casing I9 from the lower or base housing I3. Some noticeable force will be necessary to push the extension 20 of the upper casing I9 into the upper portion of the base I3, and, similarly, some exertion will be necessary to pull the extension 20 out of the base.

The guide'projections 38, and the corresponding recesses 39, also will prevent a rotation of the upper portion I9 in the base I3.

Columns, or longitudinal projections, 40 may be provided on the outside of the base II and the upper portion I to reinforce the upper and lower casings or housings, and thereby to make it possible to manufacture them out of plastic material, with desirable thin walls, said columns 40 also serving as grips on the two parts so that they may be pulled apart without causing them to rotate orturn with reference to one another, and said colmns obviously serve to give the device a more attractive and esthetic appearance.

The use and operation of my cigaran-d cigarette lighter will be obvious from the herein description. n

Normally, my lighter is in the position as indicated in Fig. 4. When it is desired to use the same, the upper casing I9 will be gripped with one hand and the base I3 with the other, and the upper casing I9 with its associated devices will be pulled out of the base, and turned upwardly into a. reverse position to that shown, and then operated as usual. 4

After having used the lighter, the upper portion I0 of the same will again be turned into an inverted position, with the extension 20 thereof downwardly, when the exposed part of the lighter 'proper 22 may be pushed into the upper end of the base. f

When the combustible liquid in the lighter proper 22 has been used up, and wick 24 does not produce the ready flame any more, said lighter proper-22 will bepulled out of the upper casing or housing I9 and refilled with combustible liqul from the reserve tank 25. f

For this purpose an operating slot or recess 4I is provided in the bottom 29 of said tank and by inserting any appropriate object, even a coin, into said s lot, the tank 25 may be removed from the space Ia in the base, by unscrewing, whereupon its cap may be removed to use a part of the fluid therein.

It `will be obvious that in a reverse manner, the reserve fluid container 25 again may be secured in the lower space of the base by said screw threaded engagement.

Similarly, when the flint in the lighter proper, or flame producing device, 22 has been used up, the same may be replaced by one of the reserve flints 35, in the sleeve chamber or magazine 3l,

' at the upper end of the device, for which purpose the ball shaped closure cap 34 will be unscrewed, stopper 3B removed, and after taking out a reserve int 35, the stopper 36 and the closure ball 34Y may be replaced into their original positions.

It will be obvious that said closure ball may also be used as a grip for pulling the housing I9 out of the base II, and said ball, with an appropriate shaping of the closed upper end 30 of said housing, wiIl aid in the attractive, esthetic appearance of my device.

As has been 'mentioned hereinbefore, my device may conveniently be made of plastic material by simple die operations, with the exception of the housing 22 for the lighter proper, which I prefer to make of sheet metal, as is the case with lighters used at present.

It also will be observed that the ornamental and reinforcing columns 40 may preferably be placed in the diameters where the Yrecesses 39 are provided in the upper end of the base, so that the wall of said base may be kept comparatively thin and still -have large enoughY recesses 39 for the guide projections 38 in the casing I9.

What I claim as new, is:

l. In a cigar and cigarette lighter, iny combination, a tubular base casing open at both ends, a transverse partition wall in said casing intermediate its ends forming an upper and a lower space in said casing, a lighter device proper removably inserted in'said upper space, and a fuel container removably secured in said lower space, a casing 'for said lighter proper, the lower end thereof slidably tting into the upper opening of said base casing, longitudinal projections on said lighter casing, and corresponding depressions in the wall of said base casing', thereby to guide said lighter casing when entering or` leaving said base casing and to prevent a rotary movement thereof during said operations.

2. In a cigar and cigarette lighter, in combination, a tubular basecasing open at both ends, a transverse partition wall in said casing intermediate its ends forming an upper and a lower space in said casing, a. lighter device proper removably inserted in said upper space, and a fuel container removably secured in said lower space, a casing for said lighter proper, the lower end thereof slidably tting into the upper opening of said base casing, longitudinal projections on said lighter casing, and corresponding depressions in the wall of said base casing, thereby to guide said lighter casing when entering or leavingr said base casing and to prevent a rotary movement thereof during said operations, and longitudinal columnar projections on said base, casing, in the diameters of said depressions, for reinforcing said base casing, generally, and particularly at the places of depression, and thereby permitting it to be made with lighter walls, and also to provide .grips ,when using the device 3. In a cigar andcigarette lighter, in combination, a tubular base casing open at both ends, a transverse partition wall in said casing intermediate its ends forming an upper and a lower space in said casing, a lighter device proper removably inserted in said upper space, and a fuel container removably secured in said lower space, a casing for said lighter proper, the lower end thereof slidably tting into the upper opening of said base casing, the outer surface of said casing for the lighter generally being in continuation of the outer surface of said tubular base casing, said lighter casing widening towards its end to provide a better grip when removing the same.

4. In a cigar and cigarette lighter, in combination, a tubular base casing open at both ends, a transverse partition Wall in said casing intermediate its ends forming an upper and a lower space in said casing, a lighter device proper removably inserted in said upper space, a casing for said lighter proper, the lower end thereof slidably fitting into the upper opening of said base casing, 'the outer surface of said casing for the lighter generally being in continuation of the outer surface of said tubular base casing, a container projecting into said lower space, its bottom closing the same, and forming the bottom of the lighter. 4

5. In a cigar and cigarette lighter, in com bination, a tubular base casing open atv both ends, a transverse partition wall in said casing intermediate its ends forming an upper and a lower space in said casing, a lighter device proper removably inserted in said upper space, a casing for said lighter proper, the lower end thereof slidably tting into the upper opening of said base casing, a container projecting into said lower space, its bottom closing the same, and forming the bottom of the lighter.

ALEXANDER SYDNEY WESTON.- 

